Beaufort County spokesperson resigns, accepts job with Sheriff’s Office
Beaufort County Public Information Officer Liz Farrell resigned on Tuesday after five months, the ninth employee to leave county administration in the past year. She has accepted a job as assistant public information officer with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office for $10,000 less.
Farrell had previously worked at The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette for over 16 years as a copy desk chief, senior columnist and editor before accepting the spokesperson job with the county in March — a position she held for just over five months.
In the past 13 months, several top employees have left the county. Some have cited County Administrator Ashley Jacobs as the reason for their departure, including former Deputy Administrator Chris Inglese, who filed a grievance against Jacobs after he was fired in June. Others have left for new jobs, like former Assistant Administrator Monica Spells, who left the county for a similar job in Virginia.
Inglese’s grievance accused Jacobs of broad mismanagement, although Inglese and others say Beaufort County Council, the county’s governing body, has been too involved in the county’s day-to-day operations.
In her resignation letter, Farrell lauded Jacobs and the “positive direction [she is] taking Beaufort County Government.”
Farrell said she submitted the letter to Jacobs Tuesday morning. Her last day will be Sept. 4.
“Working at a law enforcement agency has long been a goal of mine,” the resignation letter said. “It is an opportunity that excites me and one I cannot pass up.”
In a text to a reporter Wednesday, Administrator Jacobs said she is “very appreciative of the work that Liz has done over the past five months and will continue to work closely with her in her new role with BCSO.”
Maj. Bob Bromage who, as Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson will oversee Farrell, said Farrell’s first day with the Sheriff’s Office is Sept. 8.
“We’re excited to expand our public information reach to the community and to impact more Beaufort County residents,” he said. “She comes highly qualified with extensive experience and we’re excited to have somebody of her caliber come to work for the Sheriff’s Office.”
Farrell started as spokesperson during a tumultuous time in the county.
Rumors, speculation and controversy among county employees and council have been frequent. In the past seven months, the council’s chairman was forced to relinquish that role, a new chair was elected, Administrator Jacobs applied for and was named a finalist for a job in another county, government offices have been shut down twice due to the coronavirus pandemic, and seven employees in important positions have exited the county.
Asked if these events had any bearing on her decision to leave her current position, Farrell said “my decision is based on the opportunity, one that I’m very excited about.”
Farrell will make $79,997 a year in her new role — down $10,000 from her current $90,000 job.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 1:58 PM.
